The Silent Type
by sillyme1129
Summary: Just a short story between Itachi and OC, a medical nin working for Madara Uchiha, posing her loyalty to the Akatsuki


Books were not exactly her type of favorite pastime, let alone these jutsu scrolls; but there wasn't much left to do. The alternatives were either cleaning or sleeping. She could continue to practice her healing but there wasn't a practice dummy and she's learned all the healing scrolls that the Akatsuki have acquired. Everyone around was either busy or unapproachable. The only person she can relate to is Zetsu but he's always out.

Tobi kidnapped her several years ago to use her as a medical nin as she is well-known for it and she's quiet and observant. He used her as someone to keep an eye on everyone in the Akatsuki and as a female companion. They've never gone to an intimate level but Tobi would sometimes use her as a teddy bear to sleep or to play a game of shoji. She wasn't exactly most content with her life but she never expressed discontent. She really just went with the flow.

There was nothing she missed back home save for a couple of snacks that made her feel nostalgic about her life before her parents died in battle. She only had to do a couple of healings every once in a while after a large battle. In turn, she's left alone to do anything she chooses, with limited choices. She never asked annoyingly curious questions even if she wanted to, she never got in anyone's way, and she did what she was told. She was the perfect nurse to stay with the Akatsuki. She was almost emotionless until one of the members was in grave danger. She's learned to respect each member because of their abilities. She didn't agree with what they did but at the same time, she didn't care too much. It wasn't her business.

And also, she's learned to care for a select few members…as unfortunate as that was.

She ran her hand through her long blonde hair and sighed. She was seriously bored to a point she might just go break her leg and heal it again…honestly, that plan didn't sound half bad. She was that bored. She tied her hair up and went outside and went to search for a tall tree with many branches. It was pretty far from hideout and it was getting dark but she'll only be gone for a little bit. It won't hurt. She slowly climbed up to the seventh branch, seemed like a good height. She'll fall feet first and kind of angle her legs towards the side, maybe forwards in order to break her knee. Now that she was up there, the idea didn't seem so great after all. No doubt, she could quickly fix it in a snap and she won't even feel it but she felt kind of stupid to just break her own leg, might as well find some other leg to break and heal it. Maybe Kakuzu; she could just wave some money in front of him and she could break any part of him she'd want.

As she thought about it, she couldn't help but continue to climb until it she could poke her head out of the tree and look out to beyond. When she did, it was incredible. The view was amazing and it was sunset. The sun was setting at the perfect spot, between two peaks. She leaned to the tree and watched it go down, never mind that the air was turning crisp. Finally the sun settled down and she remembered she was cold.

"Akina, time to go." She twitched a jump and looked to her right. Itachi was standing on the tree to her right. She nodded and slowly went down. "Why are you here?" she asked him as she tip toed her way down to the next branch before settling on it to do the same thing to the next branch. He was still on the other tree and waited for her branch after branch. It would have been so easy to jump down, but what kind of gentleman would he be to leave the lady?

"Tobi's looking for you. He won't stop pestering us to play shoji with you until you return." Oops, guess the sunset lasted longer than she thought.

"How long have you guys been searching for me?" She felt a little guilty now.

"You're no shinobi. It's no different for me to find you than an ant to find crumbs."

_Gee thanks for that analogy.___She thought. She was down to her final nine branches.

"And how long has Tobi pestered you guys until you decided to come find me?" Down to her eight.

"It's been an hour since we started." What?! Her momentary lapse of focus caused her to slip from the next branch and would have broken her back on the next branch if Itachi didn't leap from his branch down to catch her. She held on to him hard as she tried to stable herself. Free fall was one of her fears. Surprisingly though, height never scared her. Itachi held on to her as she took deep breaths and burying her head into his neck. When she was finally calm, she tried to let go and pull her feet down from Itachi's hold but he wouldn't let go.

"Let go." She ordered. It was a little confusing to why he wouldn't let go. But that emotionless façade couldn't pass her. She knew that he cared at least a bit to a couple members, including her. She won't let this make her think he had any feelings for her; at least she'd try not to.

"Are you sure?" he asked, looking away. She nodded and he let her down gently. After she caught her breath, she ventured downwards again. He was always one branch ahead of her now until she got to the very bottom. The last jump down hit the bottom of her feet harder than she anticipated and she hissed at the pain. Itachi blinked and asked, "You okay?" She nodded and went on her way. The pain was still there but it was something she could walk off.

"So it's been over an hour since you found me? Why'd you wait so long to take me back?" She asked. She looked up at him and he didn't look at her but just kept walking, "You were watching the sunset. You wouldn't have noticed I was there even if I called to you." Did he call her? Either he did and she really didn't notice or he stayed silent...and watched the sunset with her.

They finally got back and all the members let out a breath now that Tobi stopped pestering them. Tobi dragged her to his room to play shoji.

When he closed the door, he looked at her with curious eyes, "So what took you guys so long?" he asked in his Madara voice. She blinked and went to find the shogi board and pieces and started putting them in place, "I was watching the sunset and he either tried to get my attention and I didn't notice or he waited until the sunset was over." She finished putting everything in place and looked at him and waited.

"Hn." Was all he said and he sat down and they started the game.

Madara won two games and Akina won one. Afterwards he dismissed her but told her to come back to sleep soon. She went to the kitchen to get some water before going to bed. She saw Itachi on her way down to the kitchen.

"Thanks." She said as they passed by. She went on her way. Now why exactly did she say thanks? That he let her watch the sunset or that he saved her? Don't know. But she said it; he can interpret it however he wants.

It's been a few months since the sunset and now Akatsuki went out to a mission again. All of them went so she figured it was a very big deal. They didn't return to hours on end sometimes, the worst time was three days, but it's already been five, what the hell is going on? It's only been her at the hideout for the last five days and she started losing patience. She should have gone with them so she could heal them one at a time while they kept the battle going, why didn't she think of that in the first place?! It was too late now; all she could do now is wait by the entrance. It was the middle of the night and she was sleeping on the couch until she heard a big bang. She shot up and heard a loud shout, "AKINA!" She rushed to the sound and watched the members dragging themselves in and she spread out her hands and mumbled a few words. Suddenly, all the members had enough energy to stand up and walk themselves to her medical room as she rushed ahead of them to set things up.

It took a while, but soon all of them were healed back to a normal state, but they all had to really settle down to rest and let their body naturally recover, especially Itachi. His health and stamina were never in prime condition, she couldn't imagine what six days of battle would do to him. It was surprising that he's still alive.

Every day she'd drop by to each member's room to see their process of recovery. Her last visit was Itachi because he needed the most attention so he needed most of her time to help him. Her visit was silent the entire time and if she didn't say anything, neither would he. Itachi was one of those she's gradually learned to care about. She didn't have anything to say to him because she was too worried. She didn't want to say anything weird and she was sure she would because when she's worried, she knows she might ramble. All though the healing took a while, she did it as quick as she could. She needed to get out of there. Itachi would just lie on his bed and let her do whatever she had to. It was hard for her to see him so vulnerable.

That night, Tobi wanted her by his side so she slid in next to him and he held her tight as he could, despite his healing process to keep him from using his strength.

"It's been so long." Madara sighed into her hair. She didn't think of it as anything. He was a guy, he has his needs but that's all she was to him.

"You guys should have taken me with you." Honestly, she really couldn't stop thinking of Itachi's wounds.

"Itachi wouldn't let me." She turned to look at him confused, "Why not?" Madara looked away as if contemplating whether he should tell her or not, "I don't know. But if I had to guess, he might not want you to see what went on or doesn't want you to get hurt." She was shocked; the emotion barely skimmed the surface, but Madara caught it. "You mean more to some of us than you think." He grabbed her chin and kissed her. Now that was even more surprising, what the hell was that? She didn't know what to do. He chuckled. Her shock was much more visible now.

"Don't worry about me. I need you for just a couple things, such as this," he kissed her again and slowly worked down, "Itachi's the one who wants you. But I won't let him. As long as you're with me, he dares not to defy me." Madara's eyes were malicious and she finally caught the fear in his eyes of Itachi. Despite Itachi's short stamina, Itachi was not an opponent to underestimate. Now she was the one who was afraid of Madara; she's finally acknowledged her feelings to herself about Itachi but there was no point to act on it if Itachi didn't reciprocate the feelings. Now she knows that he might, but with Madara in the way, she'll never be able to fully be with Itachi.

Madara let his words sink and kept her by his side all night while Akina dreamt of the worst that could happen if she professed.

The next few days, Itachi was the first on her list to visit. But she did a quick check up and went on her way. She needed to avoid him and soon the feelings will pass. Right? Wrong. The more she avoided him, the more she put unnecessary thoughts in her own head. That and she ended up missing him more than she anticipated. Itachi noticed but he didn't say anything.

One day, she went again to check on his wounds and process of recovery. This time she noticed something: his eyes weren't focused. She waved her hand in front of his face silently and he quickly caught it which made her squeak in surprise.

"First of all, my vision is only blurry. Second, where else am I supposed to stare at? You? Thirdly, even if I was blind, your wave is silent only to those who aren't trained to hear the slightest wind a mile away." He looked at her. She clenched her teeth and wretched her wrist out of his grasp.

She thought about it for a moment; doing so would be a very big risk, and a little embarrassing on her part. She is a medical nin though. It was her job to heal the members, embarrassing or not. He was in no condition to move and this was the best way to get a good angle on both his eyes.

She positioned herself with both her knees by his sides and hovered so she wouldn't press on the wounds on his legs. This was the first time she caught Itachi outwardly by surprise; she couldn't help but smirk that she was probably one of the first ones who's caught the legendary ninja by surprise. She did a couple of hand signs on his eyes and there was a slow green glow coming from his eyes. She stayed there for ten minutes, studying him but didn't lose focus. Maybe she's been with them for too long, but he was without a doubt one of the best looking people she's ever seen. And with his wounds, he kept his shirt off and boy was he fine. The healing finally stopped and she moved her hands away. He opened his eyes and looked at her.

After a minute of staring at each other, she asked, "So?" All of the sudden, emotion surfaced his face and it was so different from all these years, surprisingly she couldn't read real emotion.

"If only you were there…" he said. His eyes started getting watery and she got really scared.

"What? Woah. Um, I'm sorry. Are you okay?" She was so nervous, she forgot about his wounds and let her weight go which made him hiss in pain. She got off of him and sat on the bed.

"What do you mean? If only I was where?" She got it. He wished she was there at the night of the massacre. Maybe she could have done something. Things could have been so much simpler. He never wanted to really do it.

"I'm so sorry." She looked down at her hands.

"It wasn't your fault." He looked away to some corner of the wall. She looked up to see a tears fall. All the tears he's built up over the years started spilling. He was without any sound but if you were deaf, you'd think he was crying in high volume. She grabbed a couple tissues from her pocket pack and wiped his tears and let him blow his nose. When it was over, he grabbed her and hugged her tightly. She tried to move away so his wounds wouldn't be pressured but he wouldn't budge. He'd rather feel pain than let her go.

"Thank you." He whispered. She slowly put her arms around him and let herself relax. They finally both relaxed and went to sleep.

"She's not yours." She heard Itachi's voice and she no longer felt the warmth of his body. She slowly worked her body to wake herself up but somehow, she couldn't open her eyes or move. So from the inside, she worked from the inside out, focusing on her chakra to fight whatever was keeping her from moving. Her toes started moving again and she could feel control slowly back in her legs and going up.

"Well she's definitely not yours. It was I who brought her here; she's under me." She heard Madara's voice. Now she was really frightened and tried to make her chakra work harder and faster. Her legs were in her control now and her hips were next. But she didn't make a move yet. She won't move until her whole body was back in her control.

She started hearing loud booms and fighting. Finally she took full control and shot up, "Stop!" They both stopped for a moment and looked at her. Madara smirked, "Choosing you was the smartest thing I've ever done. You could even shake off his binding spell. And what's even better, he's fallen for you." Akina took a moment to look at him. His emotionless face was back and she could tell automatically that Madara was telling the truth.

"Please. Let him go." She begged and slowly dragged herself to the edge of Itachi's bed. Tears rolled down to her cheeks as she crawled down from the bed to Madara's legs. She grabbed his cloak and bowed. He laughed manically.

"This hold you've got on him is better than anything I could have come up with. Love is the strongest bond." Madara grinned and looked at Itachi. He crouched down to her and petted the top of her head.

"You've done a wonderful job for me the past several years. In turn, I really should give you the best gift to you which is to let him go." It can't be that easy, she thought.

"But," He grabbed her hair and pulled her up. She cried in pain as she felt his hands circle her neck and held tightly, "there is no better way to keep Itachi in line than having you by my side. Or maybe, just breaking you, limb by limb, breaking bone by bone." He put a hand on her left clavicle and scapula and crushed it. She cried out in pain and wanted to just fall and curl up but he held her up by her hair.

"Itachi, you WILL always follow every order of mine and if I were to ever find out that you plan anything against me, I will break everything, down to her digits, every day. Granted she'll heal, but would you really let her go through that pain?" He laughed. He put back his mask on and dragged Akina out of the room. Akina was helpless and could only follow Tobi and hold in her tears and put a face on when any member of the Akatsuki passed by. If she ever let anyone know of Madara's existence, that's it for her and Itachi.

He brought her back to his room and threw her to a wooden chair and she fell, bringing the chair with her.

"Of course I knew about this. I knew it all. I always have." He laughed as he took off his mask and walked to his bed, "And now that everything is out in the open, that's one less thing to worry about: to have Itachi defy me." He laid down and put his arms behind his head. She cried quietly but she knew he could hear her.

"Come here." He ordered. She already healed her bones on the way back to his room but she was so sad that she felt tired and weak. She slowly moved her way to his bed and he pulled her towards him and had her lay down with him. She cried but he didn't care and just went to sleep. She really didn't want to be here. She hated being next to the man who was maliciously making all these plans. This will be a day she always remembered as the worst day of her life, and she remembers her whole life pretty well.

Months passed; Itachi avoided her like the plague and she did likewise. They both knew exactly why the other did so. And it hurt her every day to do so and she was sure he felt the same. But no matter what, they had to maintain this façade. Besides healing, they didn't say a thing. And she healed him publicly or Tobi was in the room when she was healing him. Despite avoiding him, she figured she might as well tried to maintain his eyes with the permission from Leader and Madara. Even so, they made no such actions which made everyone think some big fight happened between them. Kisame has asked Itachi before but was threatened by him, which led Kisame to warn the others never to ask.

Another big mission soon came around and they all left. Itachi was obviously reluctant to those who knew what was really going on. He wanted to see Akina before he left. But Tobi wouldn't leave until he would so there was no way Akina could see him. She wasn't allowed to go again so she prayed every hour for Itachi's safety. The last few months, she's been able to get her hands on a couple more scrolls, dealing with the eyes and studying them hard so this time she had something to do, much less it was for the man she loved.

It's been three days since they've left and she's been practicing nonstop. She was extremely tired and needed some food to recover her energy so she went to kitchen

"Akina!" his beloved voice rang through the rooms and she dropped her glass of water. She ran to the sound of his voice. Itachi and Kisame were with each other. Itachi was bleeding rapidly and his eyes were squinted in order to try and focus better. She ran to his side and helped him go to the couch. He was panting and looked at her, "Hurry. Get your things." She looked at Kisame for a second and just waved it off; if Itachi was so obvious, something must have happened and Kisame knew everything now. She was too worried to argue and went to pack up her things. When she returned, Itachi has passed out. She dropped all her things and healed him quick. His eyes fluttered open again while his wounds were closing up. He had the energy to wake up again and this time have the energy to stand up. She held him up and grabbed her things. Kisame silently followed them two.

She would follow him to the ends of the earth. She had no idea what was going on, how he had the courage to run away with her, or how he was sure that Madara wouldn't be able to follow them.

They finally settled down after days of nonstop moving and covering tracks. With Akina, someone who doesn't specialize in such things was a little bit burdensome to Itachi and Kisame but they neither cared nor minded.

"We can't stay for long so don't bother unpacking." He said as she checked his wounds. They didn't make a fire and only used the moonlight through the trees as their light. They made quick food and went on their way.

"How is all this possible; the Akatsuki, Ma-Tobi, and the mission?" She finally had to ask.

"Madara is too busy with many things to worry about you lovebirds. Akatsuki will for sure try to find us; but the key word is try. The important thing is that we do our best to stay under the radar." Kisame had his sword swung up and rest on his shoulder and looked around.

Akina shook her head, "None of this will ever work." She shook in fear of Madara. Itachi took her by the hands, "Trust me. Whatever happens, I will do my best to protect you." Akina cried. She did trust him with her life, but she didn't want to take any risks especially with Madara. How they'll be able to live, she'll never know.

It's been a year and they've traveled so long, Akina wasn't even sure they were still in the same country anymore. They've found a nice little village to settle down in but maintained their sense of security. Akina was happy, Itachi was healthy, Kisame turned out to be a wonderful companion and trusting and loyal friend more than she thought he would be. Kisame has done a good job looking out for his friends.

"I have to go back." Itachi said suddenly. Akina looked at him in rage. They were officially a couple now and Akina would make sure that they stayed that way this time.

She hit his tea cup off the table and stood up in rage, "No! You are not leaving. We've only been here for two months. I can't have you return. We've just started building a new life…" Tears weld up in her eyes. Itachi softened and went around the table and held her close, "I need to do this. I left because I wanted to make sure you're safe first. But it's important that I go back, there's something that I need to do…" She knew. He's told her everything from the beginning of the massacre and she's up-to-date. She knew that he was to go back and do the worst thing he could ever do, now that their lives were intertwined.

If he had done this before they loved each other, it would have been so much easier, but Itachi had planned every step since that night Madara came into his room. He anticipated every movie and calculated every step they would make every day and every break to this place. Only he knew of his plan and Kisame and Akina could only rely on his orders. They were more than used to it but it took them incredible patience and trust in this man. Now, the plan was to die in the hands of his brother. It hurt that he had to do this and that he put his brother before her but she understood him perfectly. It hurt but it was unavoidable. She tried to prepare herself to let him go but it became more and more difficult to think about.

_But I'm pregnant_. She looked down. This was her trump card. She knew how selfish she would be if she said this. To make him choose between his brother and his love and family, she wouldn't forgive herself, let alone even say those words. She kept quiet but she still begged him to say.

He held her all night and the morning after, she found out that he had left. Kisame wasn't told of the plan either so he was left to take care of Akina. Akina had no other choice but to stay behind and prayed for his journey to be safe…

3 years later…

Akina had birthed a son, who was the spitting image of Itachi, named Keizo. She had the dare to return to Konoha after a year of Itachi's death. She returned to work as a medical nin and to protect Itachi's beloved village. With the help of Kisame, she learned to protect herself and learned to fight. Now Kisame had come undercover into Konoha and stayed under Akina's care. Keizo had demonstrated remarkable potential to be a prodigy ninja and Kisame had no problem enjoying the time to train his god son. For now, all is well and she'll do her best to honor Itachi's will.


End file.
